Critical

The doctor pulled Alex and Elliot into a small room outside the trauma room. "Detective Benson is in critical condition."

"Can I see her?" Alex said, softly.

"Yes," the doctor said, reaching out for her arm, "Very briefly. Listen, Miss Cabot, she suffered some severe injuries." Alex could feel her body starting to shake. She wasn't used to this feeling—this new senses of weakness that was part of each moment. There were so many things in this setting that she had no control over. She wasn't used to this, and she hated the dread that overcame her as the man in front of her spoke.

"She's going to be okay, though, right?" Elliot asked.

"It's going to be touch and go tonight." The doctor sighed.

Alex took a deep breath. "You mean…"

"There's not a precise course, I'm afraid." The doctor said.

Alex turned, holding tighter to Elliot's hand. She let him put his arm around her. She felt his strength in the absence of Olivia's. "So, what's going to happen?" Elliot asked.

"There's bleeding in her abdomen," He explained as he led Alex and Elliot to a white X-Ray box and put a copy of a scan onto it. "These spots represent pools of fluids that shouldn't be there. We need to open her abdomen to identify the source of the bleeding immediately. Unfortunately, right now, I can't make guarantees. "

Alex shook her head with tears in her eyes. "Can I see her?" She asked again.

"Yes, but you only have a minute. They're going to be transferring her to surgery. You can see her before they take her. You'll only have a few seconds."

Alex could feel herself losing her sense of reality. She knew there were a million questions she should be asking. There were a million things she needed to know to make the right decisions, and to know that Olivia was going to be okay, but she couldn't form any words.

The doctor nodded. "This way," he said, as he walked with her slowly down the hall, he turned and looked at Elliot. "Sorry, trauma is one at a time. There won't be time for both of you."

Elliot nodded at him and stood back in the hall. Alex stared at him with a look of desperation while he gave her his most reassuring smile and shook his head. He watched as she looked back over her shoulder at him as the doctor led her down the hall.

"When you see her," the doctor says to her, ignoring, "There's going to be a lot going on all at once. She's attached to a lot of machines. We're going to be moving." He says, as he takes Alex around the corner. "Right this way," he said, gesturing her to one of the curtained off beds.

Alex took a deep breath and turned the corner. She was determined not to cry, not in front of Olivia. Not now and not ever. With the bravest face she could muster, she stepped next to the bed. She could hear machines all around her and she wondered how many of them were keeping Olivia alive. She could see the ventilator tube in her mouth, and she shivered. Her body was hidden beneath a blanket and even though Alex knew better, Olivia looked especially small. Alex bit her lip. She could see nasty bruises forming on Olivia's right arm, and on the side of her face. Her big, strong, healthy detective looked more like a broken rag doll.

Moments of their lives together came flashing through her head. She remembered the first time she had sat in her office, her pulse pounding when her cell phone rang and Olivia's number showed in the caller ID. She remembered picking it up and telling the detective that she was ready for their first dinner together. She remembered her excitement, and most importantly, she remembered Olivia's smile and her glowing eyes.

She remembered the times they had sat around their apartment and done nothing at all. She thought about Olivia driving her insane by flipping the channel on the T.V. every ten minutes as if Olivia had a sixth sense for when something had captured her interest just enough to warrant the topic change. She remembered the way Olivia had laughed at her when she had told her that she could cook. She remembered the way Olivia held her hand when they went to the movies when everything went dark. She remembered that Olivia liked to take her to see horror films and she liked the fact that somehow, it was always Olivia squeezing her hand too tight and not the other way around.

Alex frowned as she got closer, the ghostly glow of Olivia's skin contrasted against the white of the blanket in a sickly way. She wanted to see the healthy glow back, the way Olivia's skin flushed when she was embarrassed or the way her skin glowed in the cold, anything. Now, she looked lifeless except for ugly bruises that dotted her body. Olivia's chest moved gently up and down, and Alex took comfort in watching that movement. Every breath meant Olivia was still in there…somewhere.

"Hey baby," Alex whispered.

Alex leaned over her and looked at her arm, and IV line taped into her elbow. Alex was afraid to touch her. She was afraid that she might be able to break her--that just a light touch and she would shatter like glass. Alex slowly extended her hand and touched Olivia's fingers. They didn't move; didn't respond to her at all. The surgery team was descending upon them. They had moments left.

"Olivia, I'm here with you." She whispered. "I need you to come back to me." She said, reaching out for Olivia's hand as they started to pull her away.

"Her blood pressure's dropping," she heard someone yell. She tried to follow them but a hand clamped around her shoulder.

"They have to go," the doctor said softly into her ear.

Alex couldn't breathe. She didn't know what she would do if Olivia decided to stay away.

To Be Continued…